Panini America’s bold reimagining of the venerable Classics Football franchise officially releases in hobby shops across North America one week from today. But many collectors will get an early look at the product later this week during the 2016 NFLPA Rookie Premiere Presented By Panini America. To be sure, 2016 Classics Football is a bona fide blast from the past that injects popular old-school attributes to a brand last seen on the market five years ago.

From pulpy paper stock to throwback designs, 2016 Classics Football promises to be a breath of fresh air in a current market full of technological wizardry that stretches the boundaries of what’s possible with seemingly every release. Classics Football, by comparison, relies on yesteryear concepts and subtleties that offer a reverent nod to nostalgia — including plenty of short prints and variations.

To help properly prepare you for 2016 Classic Football’s release, below is a quick guide to the Red Backs, Blank Backs, No Name Fronts, Glossy and SP Photo Variations permeating the product, followed by a tale-tell gallery. Enjoy the preview and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance after next week’s release for additional information on these cards.

Short Prints: Rare versions of 40 cards from the set with a photo variation. The back of the card is also printed with a bolder black ink to make them easier to identify.

Glossy Parallels of base cards, Legends and Rookies: Bronze foil with the word “Glossy” printed on the front and a distinct glossy finish; there are also Bronze versions of the inserts that is glossy and short printed.

Red Back Parallels of base cards, Legends and Rookies: The backs of the cards are printed in red ink.

Blank Back Parallels of base cards, Legends and Rookies: The backs of the cards have only a team logo and legal lines. The rest is blank.

No Name Parallels of base cards, Legends and Rookies: The player name is missing on the front of the card.

what is the point of making short prints with missing information? Sort of defeats the purpose of the card itself. Cards with missing information are generally known as errors. You are basically purposely printing mistakes.

I pulled a Larry Csonka autographed card numbered to 10 . The second box bought I pulled a redemption auto card from Barry Sanders . I don’t mind waiting for the redemption cards when I get them as long as they’re from a Great player like Sanders . I’m definitely going out to buy 2 more boxes and hope I do as
Well as I did with others .

Tracy, is there a list of which cards are the “Short Print” photo variations? Also, about how rare are they, 1 per box or maybe rarer? Was just curious since in the box I won, I pulled a Brett Favre variation. 🙂